The weekly mortgage applications data from the Mortgage Bankers Association reflect a big change in the housing market: for the first time since 2009, there were more applications to buy than refinance.

Borrowers’ access to mortgage credit is the greatest in at least three years, and standards may continue to loosen in 2014 from stringent post-crisis criteria as banks adjust to new rules and look to pump up home-loan revenue, experts said Wednesday.

A gauge of mortgage-credit availability ticked up last month, and has been heading higher for two years, according to data released Tuesday. The trend could support the housing market’s recovery, economists say.

Applications to refinance mortgages dropped in the most recent weekly data, widening a pronounced slide that started in early May as interest rates began to rise, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.